Opponents urge Wisconsin Gov. Walker to veto mascots bill

Pressure is mounting on Gov. Scott Walker to break with his party and kill a Republican bill that would make it harder to strip schools of American Indian mascots, but the governor still isn't saying what he might do with the contentious measure.

The Assembly passed the measure in October and the Senate followed suit earlier this month. Walker can sign it into law or veto it at any time. If he doesn't take any action by Dec. 12, however, he faces a six-day window to make a move under the Wisconsin Constitution. If he does nothing by the end of that span the measure would become law automatically.

The bill has become one of the most charged issues the Legislature has undertaken in recent months. Republicans contend the current process for removing race-based nicknames, mascots and logos is too slanted against schools and the bill creates a fairer process. Democrats, though, have branded the proposal racist.

The governor, who faces re-election next year and is mulling a 2016 presidential run, has said he's not interested in bills that don't focus on improving the economy. But he hasn't said publicly what he'll do with the mascot bill. His spokeswoman says he's "evaluating" the measure.

Mordecai Lee, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee political science professor and former Democratic Assembly representative, said he expects Walker to sign it and to do so quietly.

"He rarely has indicated he's deviating from Republican doctrine on social issues or other issues," Lee said. "The bottom line is, politics is about appearances. He doesn't want to appear antagonistic to native Americans. On the other hand, even without a big hoopla, by signing it into law he pleases the base."

Under current state law, a single complaint about a school nickname means the state Department of Public Instruction must decide whether to order a school to drop it. DPI has ordered three districts to do so since the law went into effect in 2010.

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